The Power He Knows Not
by HPchick4ever23
Summary: This is the story of Harry Potter, the survivor, as he enters the magical world with a healthy amount of skepticism and distrust, especially for one Albus Dumbledore. Harry just wants to escape his life, if you could call it that, with the Dursleys and make his own way in the world to find happiness. Follow him as he takes his life into his own hands and faces many challenges. R&R!


_**AN: I don't think my summary was enough.**_ ** _This is the story of Harry Potter, the survivor, as he enters the magical world with a healthy amount of skepticism and distrust, especially for one Albus Dumbledore. Harry just wants to escape his life, if you could call it that, with the Dursleys and make his own way in the world to find happiness. Follow him as he takes his life into his own hands and faces many challenges including; an abusive home, a manipulative headmaster, trying to make the right friends, a fickle press and public opinion, and let's not forget a megalomaniac dark lord. Smart!Harry, Manipulative!Dumbledore. Future H/Hr_**

 _ **Trigger Warning: Child abuse and thoughts of suicide.**_

 **The Power He Knows Not**

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a man who wished he was a god. He believes that he knows what is best for everyone and how the world should be. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is not an evil man, but a man who has too much power and let it go to his head. The beginning of the end of Dumbledore's reign of power starts in the year 1980 when he was interviewing a psychic, who was shoddy at best, Sybill Trelawney. During the interview in the Hogshead Inn, in a rare moment of lucidity, Trelawney had a premonition. The prophecy that was told to Dumbledore led him to make mistake after huge mistake as he took steps to ensure his desired outcome, as any god would. Little did he know that he was ensuring his own demise.

… **Chapter One _ How Do You Measure a Decade? …**

Harry James Potter is not a stupid boy; he would be dead several times over if that were true. In fact, Harry could possibly be considered a genius. He learned things fast, he had no choice. By the time Harry was six years old he could read anything that was put in front of him, he could cook up a number of things that could easily belong in a posh French café, and he could be a landscaper or even a regular old handyman. Harry had many skills, sometimes he learned them by reading a book, or several, but mostly he learned them through sheer necessity so that he could survive growing up in the prison the Dursleys called home. He lived with his relatives the Dursleys; there was his Aunt Petunia, his Uncle Vernon, and his Cousin Dudley. Harry really couldn't think of the Dursleys as his family, instead, he thought of them as his jailors. From his earliest memories, Harry could only ever remember how his jailors abused him; he used to get beaten by Vernon or Petunia every day as he was growing up eventually it lessened. That was almost five years ago, now he usually gets beaten twice a week. Of course, Harry knew why he was always being beaten; it was because of his secret. Harry's secret was his magic, and the Dursleys do not approve of such freakishness. When Harry started going to school he learned that most people couldn't do what he could, they didn't have magic. He also learned that he knew a lot of the curriculum already. Harry liked school most of the time; usually, he got to read all day, and then when he got back to his prison he would always have a ton of chores to do. He would have tried to make friends or even talk to other school children, but Dudley made sure the other children knew to stay away from him. He didn't really mind unless of course Dudley and his gang decided they wanted to take his food or beat him up. During the school day was the only time Harry ate a decent meal, and that and his magic were the only reasons he didn't look severely malnourished. Summer holiday just started after his fourth year of primary school.

From a very young age Harry was aware that he had magic, truthfully it is probably the only reason he is still alive after some of the more severe beatings he received; he could feel it alive and thrumming under his skin like some weird electrical field. Ever since the first moment that Harry was aware of his magic he would practice wielding and honing it in his spare time and whenever he was alone. As he grew so did his magic. By the time he was eight, his magic would do almost anything he wished; that was almost three years ago. Now as Harry was approaching his eleventh birthday, his magic was like having another limb, it was second nature to him when he decided to use it. Most of the time Harry completed his chores without magic for fear of being caught, he knew the consequences and learned the hard way never to use magic around his jailors. Harry was only a month younger than his cousin Dudley, and today was Dudley's birthday. Already awake in his cupboard under the stairs, Harry was practicing magic; he was creating a small ball of light and quickly extinguished it as he heard a rapid tap-tap, tap-tap of footsteps above him.

Petunia rapped sharply on the cupboard door as she unlocked it. "Get up! You have five minutes then you need to be in the kitchen." She ordered in her shrill voice. "Yes ma'am" Harry responded as he grabbed a set of his ratty hand-me-down clothes and headed up to the bathroom. He just finished rushing through his morning ablutions; he had only a minute left and tried to open the door. The door wouldn't budge and then he heard a snort from the other side of it. Harry rolled his eyes and sighed as he heard Dudley shout, "Mom! The freak is taking too long in the loo!" Petunia came stomping up to the bathroom and knocked hard on the door, "Get out here boy this instant!" she demanded. Harry opened the door and barely managed to say a quick "Happy birthday" before Petunia grabbed him by the ear and yanked him down to the kitchen ranting about it was Dudley's special day and Harry was purposefully trying to ruin it. As the kitchen door swung closed Petunia dropped his ear and smacked him across the face. Then she grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him over to the stove, moved the boiling kettle and put his hand on the hot burner. Harry had already braced himself for the pain and never made a sound. Harry snatched his hand back when Petunia turned to make tea for herself and her husband. "Now you little freak I don't want you ruining Dudley's birthday anymore after you've made breakfast for my family go and make sure the garden and yard are in perfect order." Screeched Petunia then she walked out with the two cups of tea. Harry sighed and thought to himself, _this bodes well for the kind of summer it is going to be_ , as he went to the sink to run cool water over his burned hand. _I've had worse_ , Harry thought as he carefully dried his hands. He used a bit of magic to take away the sting as he bandaged up his injured hand, he couldn't heal it because the Dursleys would know he used magic. Dutifully he got breakfast ready for his jailors. The table was all set, so, he quickly fried himself an egg, a piece of bread, and a slice of tomato and scarfed it down as he heard the Dursleys coming. He just finished putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher when the door opened, and he made a hasty exit out the back door into the yard.

Harry was halfway done weeding the garden when he heard Vernon shout out to him. "Boy!" Vernon bellowed from the back door. Harry walked over to him. "We are taking Dudley and his friends to the zoo for his birthday. When we get back dinner must be on the table and you will make Dudder's favorite chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. We will be back by 6:30 sharp." Vernon finished. "Yes, sir." Harry said. Vernon slammed the door closed and headed out the front door to the car. Harry listened as the car was started and then gravel crunched as his jailors drove away. Harry breathed a sigh of relief; he didn't have to worry about the Dursleys standing over his shoulders for the next seven hours. He got back to work weeding the garden. Finished weeding the garden, Harry noticed that it was unusually hot out today and the sun has been beating down on him most of the morning. Harry took off his shirt as he went to get the hose; he took a long drink before letting the water run over his head to cool off. Turning off the hose, for now, Harry went over to the shed to collect the bag of plant fertilizer and a trowel. It was time to get his hands dirty. Harry started at the far side of the garden closest to the back fence; slowly he moved on his hands and knees as he loosened the soil in the garden and mixed in the plant fertilizer. As he got closer to the side of the garden that connected to the house he stopped suddenly; he felt his magic thrumming just a tiny bit faster. He looked around for a reason that would cause his magic to do such a thing when he heard a whisper, _"Don't come any closer human or I'll bite."_ Harry caught sight of a rather small brown snake coiled up in the corner of the garden by the house. Harry stared at the snake and cocked his head to the side as he thought, _this is new. I've never had a snake speak to me before; at least I think it was the snake that spoke_. He wondered if he spoke back would the snake understand him too. Should he try? He decided he might as well try to respond. " _Um. I've never spoken to a snake before, but I mean you no harm."_ Harry decided to be polite and introduce himself, _"My name is Harry."_ The snake raised her head, _"You are a speaker. I've never met a speaker before."_ Well, that answered his question, _"Yeah I guess I am. What may I call you?"_ The snake seemed to decide she had nothing to fear from Harry and uncoiled. _"You may call me Sistine."_ She slithered closer to Harry and scented him with her tongue. Harry could see now that the snake was only about half a meter long, _"Alright Sistine then. May I continue working here?"_ Harry asked. _"What are you doing?"_ Sistine asked. Harry explained to her that he was mixing food for the plants into the soil. Then he showed her how he loosened the soil around the base of the plants and mixed in the fertilizer. Quick as lightning Sistine lunged at a worm that was squirming on top of the freshly turned soil. Harry started just a bit at how quickly Sistine moved then asked, _"Sistine are worms all you eat?" "No,"_ she replied, " _Mice are my favorite, but sometimes I can catch a bird or a lizard; mostly though I catch worms, spiders, or other insects."_ Sistine decided she liked this human boy. Harry continued to do his work in the garden, and he and Sistine conversed easily as she watched him. When Harry finished Sistine had caught two more worms, a cockroach, and a rather large spider. Harry told her he needed to water the garden so she asked if she could rest on his shoulders out of the way. He held out his hand to her and she slithered up his arm and curled around his neck without squeezing too tightly. Harry gathered up the gardening tools and supplies he used and put them away, and then he got out the hose and turned it on. He took another drink mindful not to get Sistine wet before watering the garden. After watering the garden Harry got out the lawn mower and began mowing the grass. Sistine stayed on his shoulders the entire time; sometimes they talked and sometimes they lapsed into silence and Harry found it peaceful. When Harry was done he said adieu to Sistine and let her down in the garden before going inside.

Harry had just enough time to take a quick shower before starting dinner and the rest of his chores. He grabbed a fresh set of clothes and went upstairs to the bathroom. When he was done he picked up all the laundry and brought it down to the washroom. After putting on a load of clothes in the washer Harry began mixing the cake and got it into the oven. While the cake was baking he whipped together the chocolate frosting and let it set up in the fridge; then he began preparing dinner. Harry enjoyed the days he was left home alone; he could get his work done in peace and not have to worry if he unintentionally let his magic slip, like when he would unthinkingly summon different utensils or food items from across the kitchen. When the cake was done Harry took it out of the oven and set it on the counter to cool and put the chicken he prepared into the oven to roast. Harry lost track of the time moving as he was constantly back and forth making sure the chicken was perfect and folding the wash. Soon enough Harry set dinner up on the table and just finished frosting the cake when the front door clicked open. Dudley and his friend Piers both ran into the kitchen before Harry could make his escape. "Watch out freak!" Dudley said as he knocked hard into Harry taking his glasses from him at the same time. "Oh you can't now can you?" Dudley taunted as he broke Harry's glasses at the bridge of the nose. Truthfully Harry could see quite well without his glasses, but as long as Dudley thought he couldn't Harry had an advantage. Dudley dropped the broken glasses on the floor so Harry pretended to scramble around for them all the while Piers was standing there next to Dudley laughing with him at Harry's plight. Harry picked up the pieces of his glasses and went to the draw where he taped them back together. Dudley and Piers were bragging about how much fun they had at the zoo saying how Harry should've been there if he wasn't such a freak, "… and we got to go into the reptile house and see all these awesome snakes. I wanted to bring home a poisonous one and put it in your bed." He directed at Harry. Harry couldn't help but smile a little to himself at hearing that; _if only you knew I spent some time with a snake today, and not to mention I'd probably be able to talk it into biting you instead_.

Shortly after that Vernon and Petunia came into the kitchen, and Petunia immediately grabbed Harry and pulled him to the side. "I want you to stay out of our way this evening. Go clean the attic. Dust everything and rearrange the boxes to make room for Dudley's old toys." She ordered. "Yes, ma'am." Harry said and he went to gather up the supplies he would need. Harry trudged upstairs with his supplies and pulled down the ladder to the attic. Up in the attic, Harry began by dusting off the outside of everything and then sweeping the floor; it took him about an hour and a half to get done. Then Harry started going through the boxes to see where he could condense the contents. He just finished condensing six boxes into four. When he opened the seventh box he found a bunch of baby things and something caught his eye. There in the box was a soft, red baby blanket with the initials HJP sewn into it in gold thread. Harry was surprised to see his initials there; he reached into the box and carefully picked up the blanket and held it. Harry knew that the only people who could have meant this blanket for him were his parents, the ones who were dead, although he didn't believe for a moment that they died in a drunken car accident the way the Dursleys told him. This blanket must've been with him when he was brought to and left in this hell hole. Harry held his baby blanket like it was the most precious thing in the world, and to him it was. Instantly, that baby blanket became Harry's most treasured possession as it was the closest thing to his parents that he now had. With slow, reverent motions Harry opened up the blanket and when it was fully open something fell to the floor. Gently he folded the blanket again and set it on the box before he bent down to pick up the thing that fell, it was an old letter. The envelope was addressed to Petunia Dursley at Number four Privet Drive and the wax seal was broken, so she must have read it. His curiosity got the better of him because Petunia would never be caught dead with something so unusual on her person, Harry opened and read the letter.

 _ **November 1, 1981**_

 _ **Dearest Petunia Dursley nee Evans,**_

 _ **It has been a long time since we last exchanged letters, my dear Petunia. Meet your nephew Harry James Potter. Most, unfortunately, it is I who must inform you of the sad news of your sister, Lily Potter nee Evans and her husband's death. You have my condolences for the loss of your sister and your brother-in-law, James Potter. Their untimely deaths have left poor little Harry an orphan. Lily and James perished at the hands of Lord Voldemort on the evening of October 31, 1981. Lord Voldemort is a wizard most evil; he has sown fear amongst the magical community of Great Britain for many years. Your sister and her husband were members of a group of light wizards, called The Order of the Phoenix, actively working against the reign of terror brought on by Voldemort, and that is why they were forced into hiding a little over a year ago just before young Harry was born. Lord Voldemort was hunting the Potters and they manage to hide for a little more than a year before he found them. His goal was to end young Harry's life that fateful night, but miraculously young Harry survived and Voldemort seems to have vanished. I do not, however, believe that Voldemort is gone for good from this world, but only defeated for now. Harry is still in danger, so, I have placed extensive wards over your property so that as long as Harry resides where his mother's blood dwells he and your family will be safe from the magical world. I am the only magical that knows where you and Harry live now, and no one else from the magical world can find you by any means. All mail addressed to Harry has been redirected to me, and you know well how the magical world sends mail by owl. I believe that it is best for Harry not to grow up in the magical world. I will contact Harry when he turns eleven and it is time for him to re-enter the magical world to come to school at Hogwarts. There is a plan for Harry's future; it is foretold in a prophecy that Harry will be the one to defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all. I need Harry to come into the magical world uncorrupted so that I may lead him to his destiny. To make your life a little easier I have also placed some minor dampeners on Harry's magic.**_

 _ **Please Petunia, I remember a time when you all but begged me to allow you to attend Hogwarts. I beseech you to raise young Harry as your own as you know your sister would do for your own son if the situation were reversed.**_

 _ **Sincerely,**_

 _ **Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore**_

 _ **Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**_

 _ **Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot**_

 _ **Supreme Mugwump of the ICW**_

 _ **Order of Merlin First Class  
**_

Harry was in a mild state of shock as he finished reading the letter for the second time. He read the letter slowly a third time just to make sure he understood every word. At first, Harry didn't know what to feel, then emotion after emotion slammed into him until he fell to his knees; relief, anger, sadness, frustration, and even a tiny bit of excitement washed over him. So many of the questions he always had were answered and so many more questions arose in his mind. "Boy! Get down here!" Vernon shouted up to Harry. Harry jerked out of the trance he was in staring at the letter. Quickly he folded the letter and tucked it into his blanket, and then he tucked the blanket into the waistband of his pants. "Yes, sir." Harry hurried to call back. He gathered up the supplies he used and brought everything down the ladder. Vernon was there waiting for him, "Did you finish?" he asked. "No sir, but I'm almost…" Harry started to say when Vernon grabbed him by his upper arms and threw him bodily against the wall. "Why have you not finished? You've been up there for nearly two and a half hours you useless freak." Harry tried again, "I'm almost done, sir." You'll finish it tomorrow Boy." Vernon said, "Now you have ten minutes to put that stuff away and get into your cupboard." "Yes sir." said Harry and he rushed to put the supplies away and use the loo before getting into his cupboard. As soon as he was in his cupboard Petunia locked it closed for the night. Harry lay down on his cot and waited until the house was quiet before he used his magic to create a small ball of light and let it hover over him. Thankfully, the blanket was still in place and he took it out and put it under his pillow, then he stripped out of his clothes and crawled under the thin, old throw that served as his blanket. He extinguished the light he created and laid there thinking about the contents of the letter and what he learned. He would be eleven in a little more than one month and then he would be receiving a letter from this Albus Dumbledore as an introduction to the magical world, and then he could start finding more answers. Soon enough he fell into a restless sleep. That night he dreamed of a woman screaming, high pitched, maniacal laughter, flashes of acid green light, and a flying motorcycle.

For five weeks Harry was in a state of constant, nervous anticipation. The first week was the hardest; Harry tried to act like nothing was different, even though everything was, but his jailors noticed. The Dursleys worked him harder than ever and gave him an extra beating that week. Harry got better at pretending nothing was wrong after that. The days passed by slowly. Whenever Harry was working in the garden Sistine would join him and they would chat quietly; they struck up a fast friendship. Harry told Sistine, who he started to call just Sis, all about his life growing up having magic and having to hide it from the Dursleys lest they beat him for it. He told her about the letter he found and that he hoped that he would be able to leave the Dursleys behind for good; that anywhere would be better than being stuck here where he wasn't wanted. He told her of his apprehension about the prophecy and how if it were true he would have to face the monster that murdered his parents and his skepticism of Albus Dumbledore's motivations for leaving him with the Dursleys and being the one to bring him back to the magical world. Sis listened and talked about what she knew of the world outside of Privet Drive, and how she came to live here. She speculated that they were meant to find each other, for a common adder Sis had an amazing sense of smell and was a very good judge of character. From then on Sis stayed with Harry wrapped around his arm and hidden by his sleeves unless she needed to hunt. It was only ten days until Harry's birthday, July 31st when Harry noticed that his jailors were acting strangely. There was a growing sense of tension rolling off them, they became edgy and he found himself being beaten seemingly just for being in the same room as them for too long. As always Harry survived and woke up each day to do the chores demanded of him; it helped a little whenever Sis would offer to bite them even though he always refused. By all means, Harry knew he should've been severely damaged as a person the way that he grew up, and when he was little he used to think that he would be better off dead; he even tried to kill himself once, but at that moment he realized he wanted to live and find happiness, so, his goal became surviving until he could leave the Dursleys and make his own way. After that Harry did his utmost to stay out of the way and get his chores done quickly acting like everything was normal even though his own sense of anticipation was growing by the day. Finally, the day before Harry's birthday Petunia sent Dudley over to his friend's house for the night and dread pooled in Harry's gut. Sis sensed the change in the atmosphere and tensed around Harry's arm. Harry just finished with his chores early when he heard Vernon's tense shout from the kitchen, "Get in here you little freak!" Sis hissed quietly in displeasure. Harry took a deep breath and let it go along with the anxiety that had been building in him since this morning; he knew he could expect another beating.

Harry walked stone-faced into the kitchen where his jailors were waiting for him; Petunia was standing stiffly by the counter, but Vernon had his belt in his hand. Harry blinked in surprise. It has been a long time since Vernon used his belt to whip him, usually, that was only for when he was caught doing accidental magic. The Dursleys didn't like when he was unable to work the next day. "Go get a bucket and put it in your cupboard Boy," Vernon said forebodingly. Harry did as he was told and put the bucket in his cupboard. While he was there he gently pulled Sis off his arm and hissed quietly at her. "Stay in here and out of sight Sis." She quietly hissed her discontent back at him but did as she was told. As he walked back to the kitchen his back was straight and his head was high; there was no reason for him to abandon his dignity, and it's not like this was the first time he was being whipped. Harry had many scars from his beating and lashings over the years. "Take off your shirt and turn around." commanded Vernon. Petunia just stood there her face emotionless and hard. Harry took off his shirt and tucked it into his pocket. Harry knew better than to ask them why they were doing this, besides he figured it was simply because they knew something was going to happen tomorrow and they snapped from the tension. Harry braced himself by holding the back of a chair he had just settled himself and taken a breath when the first lash came down. It struck diagonally down from his left shoulder blade, all of his breath left him in a quiet whoosh, then the pain set in. His hands tightened so he was holding the chair in a white-knuckled grip; the second lash caught him across the lower back. He breathed hard through the searing, near blinding pain. "Again." Petunia said; Harry barely heard her. Lash after lash came down across his back; he counted six before he felt his skin split and blood mixed with the sweat dripping down his back. His knees gave out but he kept his grip on the chair. Harry couldn't think anymore after the eighth blow but it didn't last much longer after that. He never made a sound louder than a whimper. It took him a minute to realize no more lashes were coming and Vernon was talking. "… and why we ever agreed to take you I'll never know. Freaks like you don't belong among normal, decent folk. Come on Boy get up and get to your cupboard." Through the whole ordeal Petunia stood back and watched; now she busied herself making tea like nothing happened. Harry winced as he pulled himself up slowly to stand. He swayed in place a moment before taking a few unsteady steps towards the door. Vernon didn't think he was moving fast enough and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to his cupboard before shoving him inside and locking the door. _"I can smell your blood, my friend. Can I go bite the other humans now?"_ Sis hissed from her position at the top corner of the cot. Harry was in too much pain to think clearly, but he managed to tell Sis he'd be okay as he lay down on his stomach on top of his blanket and passed out.

Harry's brain was foggy as he slowly became conscious; the first thing he had awareness of was the stinging, itching pain radiating from his back. He was immediately reminded of the lashing he received last night; at least he thought it was the night before. He couldn't tell if it was day or night since there were no windows in his cupboard, but he figured he was probably asleep for most of the day. Harry tried to lift his head to lean on his arms but it caused him excruciating pain as he aggravated the wounds on his back. Happy birthday to me, he thought to himself as he gave up trying to get up; then he realized in this state and locked in his cupboard he would miss whatever way this Dumbledore person would try to contact him. Unless he shows up here himself and demands to see me, thought Harry doubtfully. Albus Dumbledore was seemingly the one who left him here ten years ago and never once came to check up on him, so why would he come now? Harry drifted in and out of sleep, sometimes having short hushed conversations with Sis, but mostly he just needed his rest. Harry remained unaware that, that morning outside of the cupboard under the stairs the Dursleys received two letters from none other than Albus Dumbledore. One letter was addressed to Harry Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs, Number Four Privet Drive; the other was addressed to Petunia Dursley, Number Four Privet Drive. The letter to Harry was immediately ripped up and tossed in the rubbish bin. The letter to the Dursleys was short with only instructions to bring Harry to King's Cross Train Station in London on August 6th someone from the school would pick him up to get his school supplies and then bring him back to Privet Drive in the evening; if they did not show up with Harry, of course, he would then have to send someone to Privet Drive. The Dursleys did not want any other freaks showing up at their home grudgingly they would take Harry on August 6th.


End file.
